Process of cracking hydrocarbons



Feb. 7, 1933. G. EGLOFF 1,896,228

PROCESS OF CRACKING HYDROCARBONS Filed Jan. 6, 1928 all ZLIZGSS Z7? 6 '1 I f0 7" J Patented F b. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES PATEN ounce- GUSTAV EGLOEE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINCIS, ASSIGNOR T UNIVERSAL OIL PBDDUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA PROCESS OF CRACKING HYDROCARBONS Application filed January 8, 1928:. Serial No. 244,816.-

This invention relates to the process of cracking hydrocarbon oils, more particularly to so cracking the hydrocarbon oils as, for example, crude petroleum, fuel oil or distil- 6 lates as to produce substantial percentages of anti-knock compounds.

In the present invention, a motor fuel product is produced from the'chemical reaction of hydrocarbon vapors, water gas and an oxygenating reagent, which will consist of a mixture of hydrocarbons, alcohols and aldehydes of a high anti-knock value suitable for use in high compression motors. The

. accompanying drawing represents a diagrammatic view, not to scale, of an apparatus suitable for carrying out the present invention. Referring to the drawing, 1 designates a furnace, in which is mounted a heating coil 2 to which the raw charging stock may be fed by pump 3 leading to any suitable source of supply. The oil in passing through the coil 2 may be heated to a temperature of 900 F., more or less, and thence passes through the outlet valve 4. At the same time, water gas 2 from gas producer 5 may pass through the valve 6. at a temperature of 'say 1600" F. more or less and there meet the oil in the line 8 to form a mixture passing through reducing valve 9. Prefera ly the water gas is introduced into the line 8 under suflicient pressure so as to thoroughly mix with the hydrocarbonoil and vapors. The mixture then enters the reaction chamber 7, which chamber 7 may be insulated or, if desired, may

be externally heated. Into this mixture in chamber 7 is introduced'regulated quantities of air or other desired reagent through the respective headers 10, feed branches 11, controlled by throttle valves 12. The air may be introduced under sufiicient pressure to cause it to enter the chamber 7 The tem-' perature of the mixture in the chamber 7 may be from say 1600 to 1200 F., more or less. In this chamber chemical reaction will take place producing unsaturates, aromatic hywater gas with the hydrocarbon vapors from drocarbons or other anti-knock compounds, such as alcohols.

From this chamber 7, the mixture passes out thru line 13, having throttle valve 14' into what I may designate a tar stripper, 16. In 80 7 this tar stripper, the mixture may be maintained at a temperature of say 1000 F., more or less. The vapors pass out through the line 17 having control valve 20 into the condenser coil 18mounted in condenser box 19, thence the distillates pass to receiver 21 through line 22. The receiver 21 is provided with draw-off pipe 23 having throttle valve 24 and with gas outlet pipe 25, having gas control valve 26. Heavy tars which drop. or 00 separate out in the chamber 16v may be withdrawn through line 27, havin control valve 28. Heavy tars may also be wlthdrawn from the chamber 7 through line 29, having control valve 30. a

The chamber 7 and the-remaining .part of the system may be maintained at a pressure materially below that of the pressure in the coil 2, for example, if. the coil 2 is under say 300# pressure by controlling the valve 9, the pressure may be reduced in the chamber 7 to say 50# or more or less, or it may be reduced to atmospheric or, if desired, a vacuum 7 may be maintained on the chamber 7. The oil which is fed throu h the coil 2 may, as heretofore indicated, crude petroleum, topped crude, fuel oil or distillates. The air supply to the chamber 7 should be so regulated as to produce the desired results and injected under controlled conditions in quantities below the explosion range. If desired I may use by-products, coke oven gas instead of water gas, or I may blend carburctted the petroleum.

I claim as my invention A process for treating high boiling point hydrocarbon oil to produce distillates having high anti-knock properties including the steps of heating the oil to acracking temperature while flowing through a heating coil under superatmospheric pressure, thence transferring the heated oil constituents to an enlarged reaction zone maintained under lower pressure than that maintained on the oil passing through said heating coil and inl jecting into the'heated oil transferred to said enlarged reaction zonewater gas heated to a temperature in excess of the temperature to which the oil is heated in said coil, and also introducing to the oil in the reaction zone air in amounts insuificient to form an explosive mixture and maintaining the constituents in said reaction zone at a temperature in excess of 1000 F.

GUSTAV EGLOFF. 

